Written by Michael D. Warden

This article is courtesy of Christian Single magazine.

Picture this: The prophet Elijah has just been threatened with death by Jezebel, evil wife of King Ahab, and he knows that she has both the power and will to make good on the threat. Jezebel wants Elijah dead – the sooner, the better. So the prophet gets scared and scampers off to the wilderness to live in a cave, where he starts pouting in anger at God for allowing him to be put in such a position. But God doesn’t buy into Elijah’s complaints. Instead, the Lord basically says to him, “Seriously, what are you doing here?”

Sound familiar?

For most of us, life doesn’t turn out quite the way we expect. Maybe we expected to be married by now or at least in love – but we’re not. Maybe we expected to be financially stable by now – but we’re not. Maybe we expected to know God’s plan for our lives by now – but we don’t. We expected to simply feel happier by now than we actually do. And many of us have responded to our disappointments the same way Elijah did: by hiding out in caves of our own making.

God’s answer for Elijah was not to solve all of his problems or answer all of his complaints. Instead, it was intended to offer Elijah a greater revelation of the beauty and power and grace and holiness of God. That’s because, in the end, the courage it takes to leave your cave can come in no other way.

Right Here, Right Now
Too often we view our relationship with God as one treasure among many. Certainly, we want God and the life He offers. But we also want other things. We want love. We want a family. We want financial freedom. We want that loft in the city or that home in the suburbs. We want health. We want fun and leisure. We want to be comfortable. We want to feel safe.

And the problem is actually not that we want these things; the problem comes when our desire for them competes with our desire for God and His will for our lives.

Many times we stop living the life God has for us because we’re holding onto some desire that has not yet been met. We live life on the sidelines, in the waiting room of the world. And all the while, God is waiting for us to wake up and realize that the life He offers us is not dependent on those things we’re pining after. It’s right here, right now. 

This is your life. It may not be what you expected. You may not yet have all that you desire. But with Christ, you already have living within you the makings of a rich, courageous, and beautiful life. The only person who can stop you from living it is you.

It’s Up To You
Following Christ doesn’t come cheap. It requires us to let go of any expectations of what life should look like. And it demands that we fully embrace the courage that comes from faith. The truth is, to follow God will cost us, and anyone who says otherwise is lying.

But there is another side to the story. For the way of Christ is a great adventure – a journey of transformation. It is the most genuine and whole expression of life possible. And it opens the door to participation in a life beyond our wildest dreams.

But is it worth the cost?

With each new season of life, we must confront this question anew. Perhaps it is a season of poverty or a season of singleness. Perhaps it is a season of obscurity or of betrayal. You don’t know when the season will end or, really, if it ever will. Right there, in that place, the question is yours. Will you shrink back, stop living fully, and run to a cave to wait it out? Or will you follow Christ and live your life in the here and now?

The Payoff
The ultimate payoff for following Jesus is Jesus Himself. As Paul declared, those who choose to follow Him suffer the loss of all things in order to gain Him. And this sentiment was also expressed in the Psalms: “Whom do I have in heaven but You? And I desire nothing on earth but You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever” (73:25-26).

Who is Jesus that He would be worth losing everything to gain Him? It is a question worth considering. Do we treat Him as an add-on to our lives – a convenient philosophy and a talisman of good fortune – or do we consider everything else to be a loss in order to have Christ? If we honestly give the “add-on” answer, perhaps we haven’t really experienced Him. For if you do, you are ruined for anything less than Him and His purpose in your life.

You may still suffer loss and unmet desires, but in the end, it does not matter any more that life has not turned out the way you had hoped or planned. For now you know the secret that the world is dying to hear: Jesus is life.

Michael D. Warden is a full-time author, speaker, and life coach who helps people discover and fulfill God’s unique purpose for their lives.